


Praise

by UnrealRomance



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M, Gender can be ambiguous in these, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 15:07:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8213581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnrealRomance/pseuds/UnrealRomance
Summary: I've seen so many praise kink fics for Solas. Talking about how pretty and intelligent he is-- but I got to thinking...How come there are barely any praise kink fics for Fenris or Zevran? If I'm just missing them, feel free to point me toward them, I'd love to read 'em.So this is a drabble book for Fenris, Zevran and Solas in the Praise Kink category-- though it can be approached in different ways. I also take a different angle with the praise than just praising their looks or intelligence because let's face it, they had to have heard it all before even if from someone like Danarius, the Crows or snotty nobles or something. So I wanted it to be more personal. More about...who they are. Inside.Not knocking on anyone else's praise fics, they're awesome, I just wanted to take a different angle!





	1. Fierce - Fenris

**Author's Note:**

> I was reading some prompts on the kink meme when this occurred to me, but it wasn't any one prompt that gave me this exact idea-- I just kept seeing Solas Praise kink and decided I had to give this a try.
> 
> The character you're looking through the eyes of can usually be male or female or gender nonbinary gender neutral, of any race you like. Well, maybe not dwarves or Qunari as that would require special mentions of height differences to make up for in kissing and stuff... and Hawke is always human so...
> 
> Anyway! Enjoy.

"I...what?" Fenris pauses in the doorway.

I blink and wonder what it sounded like I said. "I said: 'I've always admired your ferocity'." I repeat, with a frown. "What did you think I said?"

He's quiet for a long moment, staring at me. "Ferocity." Rolling it around on his tongue as if he doesn't know what the word means, but I know he does. He's used words like ferocious and fierce before, I've heard him.

"After waking up and coming into your own and resolving not to be a slave anymore, instead of becoming despondent and hopeless- you fought." I explain. "I know all the stuff you told me, but I know there's more."

He stiffens and his eyes flick to the floor.

"And the fact that you don't let it rule your life makes me admire you, so much." I say, smiling when I see his face turning slightly pink. "How strong you are, not physically but..." I get up off the edge of my bed and walk over to him, feeling a little thrill of power at the way his eyes immediately flick up to watch the way my hips sway. "I mean, you're a broody, angry man- but you're mostly so level and soft-spoken and wry..."

He's looking at me with such an unfamiliar expression now. "And you...like that?" As if it's so outlandish a concept!

I huff and put my hands on my hips. "Well, obviously!"

He's flushing more deeply than before and looks so confused, it's utterly adorable.

"Fenris." I walk over to stop before him and wait.

It's our little routine, so I always know when he's not in the mood to be touched. He initiates first, in the smallest of ways and I know I'm welcome to comfort him or kiss him or whatever it is I have in my head. If he doesn't, I don't touch him.

One of his gauntleted fingertips brushes gently across the back of my hand, so I lift both hands and cradle his face in them. "You are the strongest man I've ever known, I think." I brush my thumbs over his cheekbones and delight in the warmth I can feel under his skin. "Always ready to fight for your independence and anyone else's who needs you."

He's ducking his head now, trying to escape me, but I just wrap my arms around his neck and press kisses to the side of his jaw. "Hawke..."

"You're the real Champion, you know." I whisper and trace a fingertip over the edge of his ear. All the way up to the point and around the other edge.

He shivers.

"I do this because I've been taught the morals since I was young, but you learned them through pain, sweat, blood and tears." I squeeze him tightly to me, leaning into his body until he catches me around the waist and hides his face in the spot between my shoulder and throat. "I love you, Fenris. My fierce warrior."


	2. Endearing - Zevran

"I think it's adorable." I say, leaning over him with my hands planted on his chest. "I think everything you do is adorable."

"I- what?" Zevran's sultry expression slips off his face as he blinks up at me, hands going slack on my hips.

"What?" I don't know what I said, but he suddenly looks a lot less into all this.

"What do you mean...adorable?" He asks, with a strange emphasis on the word, like it's not right.

"Oh, do you not like that word?" He probably wouldn't like cute or endearing either, then. "I just mean to say, everything you do...you make me smile or laugh...I just really like-"

He sits up suddenly, displacing me from his lap and settling us next to each other on the bed. "Amora, I do not mind a bit of playacting in bed but you must warn me before you begin...this." He looks so spooked.

"What are you talking about?" I frown and search my memory for a moment when I might've said something offensive or even slightly...kinky. I can't find anything. "I was only telling you what I like about you."

I'd begun with the obvious, of course. How beautiful he is, his hair and his eyes and his lips especially- how I loved the way the candles or firelight would make his skin seem to glow gold. And then I told him how clever I thought he was, how I loved the sound of his voice and that he always seemed to know exactly what to say.

Which led into this discussion.

"You cannot use things..." He searches for the word or term that is appropriate as _I_ search his expression. He looks so pained. "That are not true."

I blink.

"Not to say that I do not appreciate the extra, but I would prefer to keep this out of the realm of fantasy in that area, if you would-"

"Did you just call me a liar?" I respond, wrinkling my nose.

"No!" He pauses again, looking at a loss. "I mean to say that..." He huffs. "We both know I use my personality to nettle people, and therefore I am not...anything like that! By design." He regains some of his bravado to smirk at me, but it falters when he sees the stony expression on my face. "It...it simply isn't true. It isn't that you are-"

"If I'm not lying, then it _is_ true." I cross my arms and turn away from him. "Why is it such a big deal for you to believe that I like it even when you're being annoying to people?"

"Because I am _annoying_ , Mi Amor, you just said it yourself!" He sounds almost desperate for me to agree with him as he grasps my shoulders and turns me around to look at him- and his eyes communicate the same.

I look into his eyes for a long moment. "When you pick on Alistair, it always makes me giggle. Because in the beginning it was just your way to annoy him because he was unsure about you and didn't like you around. Now you're friends and when you do it, it's...lost its sting. You do it because you always have and it's part of your relationship."

He pulls slowly away and puts his hands down beside him as he stares off into the fire, apparently waiting on me to be finished.

I lean over and wrap my arms around him, not allowing him to distance himself. I want him to know this. If he shakes me off, I won't touch him anymore, but if he doesn't...

"Zevran." I mutter and start kissing the line of his throat.

He swallows roughly once, but doesn't move to push me away.

"I love you, and everything you do. Especially when you make Wynne make that face." I laugh into the hollow of his throat and smirk when I feel him shiver. "Or when you and Oghren really get going and he ends up just throwing his hands in the air and telling you to stuff it somewhere unpleasant-"

I'm shoved down onto the bed on my back before I realize what's happening. He's looming over me in the dark with shimmering eyes and I realize after a moment that it's not just the dark and the fire that make them that way.

I look up at my lover with soft eyes and a small smile, brushing my fingertips up the whole length of his stomach, up to his chest, over his shoulders and behind his neck where I can lace my fingers together and pull him down to me.

Looking into his eyes until the last possible second before our lips touch. "I guess I just have a mean sense of humor, like you."

A sigh and his eyes close with mine. Our kiss is broken a few times so he can take a deep breath and I can wipe away the few tears he allows to escape. His shivers now are caused by something more powerful than my breath on his skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, almost cried while writing this.


	3. Compassionate - Solas

I've heard many people talk about how pretty he is. Whether they also added 'despite being an elf' or 'besides being a mage' in there somewhere-(Don't even get me started on _those_ particular people, I'll be ranting all night)- they always agree that Solas is beautiful.

And by 'they' I mean anyone who's not me. Ranging from Nobles to Artists to Servants to the odd soldier or scout here and there, gossiping in stairwells or something.

I always tell him how beautiful he is, even if indirectly. Staring at him until he notices, then jolting and looking back at my book- flushing deeply and just trying to seem like I wasn't. He follows his notice with a light chuckle and a brush of his fingertips over my hair, shoulder or across my cheek.

It occurs to me now that I've never said anything about anything else. Besides his intelligence. I tell him how beautiful his eyes are, and that I get lost listening to his voice and that I've never met anyone as smart as he is besides perhaps Dorian and even Dorian seems to be a bit behind.

He seems oddly tickled by that, probably because he knows Dorian would hate to hear it.

So I think of things I admire about him and write something up. Things I've _never_ told him that I like or admire about him. Things I didn't think needed to be said because of how obvious they were to me.

I didn't really have a reason for anything I wrote. I just love him, and I want him to know why. Beyond the shallow, vapid reasons that everyone always seems to give. It isn't a special occasion, I didn't feel like he needed the extra boost and I don't feel that he's insecure...

So I wrote a small letter, not quite poetry but not quite not poetry either- and I left it in-between the pages of his sketch-book. He uses it every day even if he's busy. It's one of his ways to let off stress...

I saw quite a few sketches were of me before I got the letter into the gap between two empty pages. I needed to see where the end was in order to make sure he'd find it when he wanted to use it. I didn't mean to pry or peep and I wonder if he'll be upset that I saw them, for a moment.

I tried not to look too closely, but I noticed he focuses heavily on my eyes and my mouth- so many pages of simply those two features...

I jolt when I hear the door to my chambers slam open and closed, almost as if someone ran through them.

Then I blink at the staircase because there's no further movement or sound. So I walk over, carefully reaching out and grasping my weapon as I lean over to see who it is.

"Solas?" I watch him for a moment and frown. "Solas."

But he doesn't seem to hear me. He's simply standing on the first step up the staircase, staring down at the stairs, so still and silent. Hand on the wall next to him, looking so flushed and overwhelmed.

"Is something wrong? What happened?" My mind immediately jumps to catastrophe, because of course it does. I walk down the steps, abandoning my weapon and rushing to him.

He only seems to notice me once I've put a hand on his shoulder. And then he's just...staring at me. Those piercing eyes connected with mine for long moments as he straightens and steps back enough for me to join him on the landing in front of the door.

"Why?" He asks, so quietly I almost don't hear him. His lips barely moving.

"Why what?" Have I done something again? Is this going to be an argument, like with the Warden issue?

"This." He holds up a piece of paper in his other hand- between fingers so carefully placed so as not to further crinkle the folded letter. "Why, why did you do this?"

"I..." I'm a little baffled by his reaction and wrack my brains for a moment for a response that isn't stupid. "I just...wanted you to know."

His expression becomes almost pained and he drops the letter in favor of reaching out and pulling me to him, hands tangling in my hair as he kisses me a bit more thoroughly and passionately than he ever has before.

The last time we kissed like this, it was in the Fade and I'm fairly certain this is...more. So much more I can't even think in words anymore.

He pulls away from me, but only so he can pull me closer by the hips with one hand, lips brushing down my throat as the other hand pulls my head back by the hair. " _Vhenan..._ "

* * *

 

(Here's the letter she wrote...for those of you who are curious...)

_I'm not really sure how to tell you this without being wordy and weird and well, sounding stupid, but I'll give it a try._

_You already know I love you, but it occurs to me that you may not know exactly why._

_You are certainly beautiful and bright and I do love your voice- but these are not reasons why I love you. They are parts of it, but mostly I love you because..._

_When someone needs a helping hand, you're the first to offer yours._

_When an enemy threatens our friends or our people, you become a furious protector._

_When I'm injured you're always the one to heal me, and always there when I wake._

_So it isn't really your intelligence or looks or anything like that- that makes me love you. It's because you're a compassionate, strong, loyal, careful, considerate man and I know I can trust you with anything. To be there in battle, or when I'm sick or when one of our friends needs us to be reckless to save them._

_You're there and you may lecture me afterwards, but I always remember the smile on your face when I make the decision to help. You try to hide it, try to turn away or turn it into a disapproving frown before I can see it, but I know it's there._

_I love you because you make me a better person than I am alone. After all, I can't remember what the right path is on my own all the time. I hope you'll always be there to help monitor my moral compass and prod my logic when it's lacking._

_Ar Lath Ma, Vhenan_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of wish fulfillment in this whole series, but this is like straight from my heart. Who else feels like this letter could be straight from them?


End file.
